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GSG Library

It was in 1974 that the G.S.G. first published a library list. It was an extremely limited edition, and was in the event never made available outside the committee. The library represents a very valuable resource and an excellent vehicle for letting members know what the Group can actually provide by way of bibliographical support. Concomitant to this of course is the need for great care in handling and, more important, returning items borrowed. Attempts to provide complete 'runs' of rare club journals means that much of the stock is very valuable More and more libraries are introducing a "reference only" policy in the light of irretrievable losses incurred. Members should appreciate the freedom of access they presently enjoy and not abuse the system.

Caving Posters

Caving Journals

Books

Pages

The scope of the catalogue has been widened to include ALL forms of related resources, including the Group's collection of speleothems and geological specimens (recovered from threatened quarries and mines!) which are available for exhibitions and displays, and the transparencies used for talks. In every respect the library has expanded greatly since 1975, and donations of fresh material are always welcome.
The primary functions of the library are to preserve and supply information. It will be noticeable that the section headed 'Abstracts' contains a good number of items neither dated nor sourced. Over the years such items, either originals or photocopies, have been donated by members and have not always been identified with full bibliographical details. Since the main intention here is to list all the material held by the G.S.G., little effort has been expended on attempting to trace sources for these anonymous documents. Time is better used for other things, and the content is just as useful.
"Abstract" is a blanket term. It includes offprints, photocopies of articles, text removed from other publications, small booklets and typed or manuscript copies. Where-ever possible, all pages are quoted. Items are registered under one of a number of subject headings and it may not always be easy to establish which heading an abstract is filed. For example, a 'popular' item on a newly discovered cave might be found under 'Exploration', 'General' or 'Cave Descriptions', so searching more widely may be necessary. Each section is arranged alphabetically with an acquisition number preceding. (A huge collection of newspaper cuttings has yet to be catalogued and therefore not shown in these lists).
It has been observed that deep research, particularly for subjects within club journals, will not be greatly aided by this publication. To sub-index further would be un-necessary duplication and massively expensive. The excellent 'Speleo Abstracts' held in the library (dating from 1962) should be used for that purpose.
References are given as: 24 = volume number; (3) = part or issue; (1989) = date of most recent edition held. Occasionally there are duplications. These occur where clubs and organisations have published a 'stand alone' document, but include it in a journal run. An example of this would be BSA Journal VI (42), which is in fact the Speleological Abstracts for 1969. These publications are listed in two sections.